Ali-Asghar Gharavi Explained

Ali-Asghar Gharavi
Birth Date:	^[1]
Birth Place:	Isfahan, Iran
Nationality:	Iranian
Party:	Freedom Movement of Iran
Alma Mater:	Saint Joseph University

Seyyed Ali-Asghar Gharavi (Persian: سید علی‌اصغر غروی) is an Iranian scholar of religion and political activist affiliated with the Freedom Movement of Iran.

According to the American magazine In These Times, he is "one of Iran's most prominent pro-democracy activists and political thinkers".

In 1998, he was arrested and summoned to the Special Clerical Court for criticizing the regime, despite the fact he is not a cleric.^[2] In 2013, Bahar newspaper was banned for publishing an article written by Gharavi, titled “Imam Ali, a Political Leader or a Religious Model?”.^{[3] [4]} He was accused of "blasphemy" for implicitly challenging Iran's Supreme Leader.^[5]

Notes and References

1. News: Iran's Intelligence Ministry Pressures Family Members to Cut Ties with Religious Scholar Who Criticized Supreme Leader. 23 February 2014. Payvand. 30 October 2019. Center for Human Rights in Iran.
2. Book: Said Amir Arjomand. Nathan J. Brown. The Rule of Law, Islam, and Constitutional Politics in Egypt and Iran. 2013. SUNY Press. 978-1-4384-4597-7. 77, 97.
3. News: Iran's closure of reformist newspaper raises concerns about press freedom. 23 February 2014. The Guardian. 4 November 2013.
4. News: Reformist Newspaper in Iran Shut Down Over Imam Ali Article. 23 February 2014. Al-Monitor. 30 October 2013.
5. Article 19, Beyond Blasphemy: Why Two Iranian Newspapers Were Closed Down, 30 January 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/54cf850e4.html [accessed 2 January 2020]